Philips HeartStart FRx

The Philips HeartStart FRx runs about $1,649 from authorized U.S. distributors in 2026, including the device, one set of SMART Pads II, an M5070A battery, and an 8-year warranty. Pediatric Child Key is sold separately at ~$110 but lasts the device’s full life with no expiration. Avoid pricing well below this band on grey-market resellers — Philips warranty and authentic SMART Pads II are tied to authorized distributor channels, and a $200 saving up front becomes a $400 warranty problem at year three.

Yes, the FRx is the only Philips AED that uses a Child Key for pediatric mode instead of a separate pediatric pad SKU. You insert the small plastic key into the side of the device; it lowers the shock energy to a pediatric-safe dose while you keep the standard SMART Pads II attached. This eliminates the wrong-pad failure mode that affects every dual-SKU pediatric workflow. For schools, daycare, and youth athletics, the FRx + Child Key combo is the simplest pediatric setup in the U.S. AED market.

SMART Pads II last 2 years from install at about $85 per pair, and the M5070A battery lasts 4 years installed at about $189. The device runs a daily, weekly, and monthly self-test and flips the status indicator red the moment either consumable starts to fail — so you don’t need a manual calendar reminder, but stocking a backup pair of pads at year 1 is good practice. Averaged across the 8-year warranty, annual upkeep lands around $85–$95 per year per device.

The FRx is IP55 rated — protected against dust ingress and powerful water-jet exposure, but not submersible. That means it survives sports-field rain, marina spray, construction-site dust, and pool-deck humidity, but you should not deploy it where it could be dropped into water. IP55 is the same rating as the ZOLL AED 3 and Powerheart G5, and it is stronger than the IP21 of the Philips OnSite — which is the main reason we recommend the FRx for outdoor and rugged use cases.

Choose the FRx if you ever take the device outdoors, you may serve children, or you want the longest warranty — IP55 rating, Child Key pediatric workflow, and 8-year coverage make it the more versatile pick. Choose the OnSite if you will keep it indoors, serve adults only, want the absolute simplest UX, and prefer the OTC clearance that lets you buy without a prescription. The OnSite is $300 cheaper but adds an FDA-approved buying path; the FRx adds rugged outdoor capability and pediatric coverage.

No state mandate requires the Philips FRx specifically, but 23 states have K-12 AED mandates that require both adult and pediatric capability on every campus AED. The FRx meets that requirement in a single device thanks to the Child Key, which is why it consistently shows up on approved-vendor lists for state DOEs. Check your state’s department of education AED guidance for current vendor lists, then cross-reference with our 23-state K-12 mandate map for the exact statute citation.